How to Develop an Effective Presentation Narrative [and Why it’s Important]

Are you wondering why a strong narrative is so important in a presentation – and how you can develop your own?

In today’s market, no business can afford to squander face time with a customer or leave any room for doubt on their part about your relevance to their business.

If your presentations aren’t getting the traction you need, it could be for a number of reasons. The culprit could be your presentation is too generic and not relevant enough to your customers, your message may not be coming through loud and clear and you could be experiencing the infamous ‘death by PowerPoint’.

Either way, it’s never a good feeling when your presentations are letting the side down – and narrative plays an essential role in developing customer-centric interactive presentations that truly resonate and engage your audience. Without it, they tend to switch off and lose track.

Yet, people tend to overlook narrative and can forget that at the end of the day, there is a customer who is going to be listening to your presentation. Walking in with a generic deck and going through it in a linear style, skipping slides or having to move backwards and forwards, often with no thought or consideration to narrative, can be very off-putting.

That’s why we’re going to explain more about the importance of a good narrative below, as well as giving you some helpful tips on how to develop yours.

What makes narrative so important?

The narrative is the heart of any good presentation; without a clear narrative, there is no story for your audience to understand. This means your audience having to really work hard to try and figure out what is being said, where you’re presentation is going, what you need them to do or think and why you are the right partner for them. It makes it hard for them to recall your key messages and retell your story to other decision makers.

Essentially, a narrative means you’re telling them a story with a clear, simple and logical flow; you’re conveying to them an idea and telling it in a compelling, engaging and meaningful way that builds towards a clear action point for them. It stitches together what are a set of individual slides, and makes sure they work together. With a good narrative, you can ensure that every slide and every line of content has a purpose.

Without a narrative, all you have is a series of slides. There’s no story for your audience to understand, and you’re left talking at them – instead of having a meaningful and mutually beneficial conversation.

Remember: a presentation is all about getting your audience to take the action you need them to take – such as adopting an idea, moving to the next stage of their buying process etc. – therefore you must have a clear narrative argument that lays down why they should do what you want them to do. This is central to the whole idea of narrative.

How to develop a good presentation narrative

First things first; in order to develop the best narrative for your presentation, you have to establish the action you need your audience to take afterwards.

Don’t underestimate this step.

Your entire presentation should be based on moving your audience to take the action you need them to take. It must be specific, clear, achievable and fit with their processes. For instance, every company will have a buying process and stages they need to go through with a new partner, so make sure your presentation clearly recognises this and don’t jump the gun. It’s rare that any deal will be signed off the back of a presentation so think carefully what can be achieved in your presentation to move the customer one step closer to signing a deal with you.

You obviously need to understand your own business goals and what you’re looking to achieve. It’s worth considering how you currently engage with your customers, and the value and opportunities you’re looking to create for them.

Now, you have to align this with your customers; the problems they’re trying to solve, and their challenges and goals. Look at their job roles, the market they’re in, and the current trends impacting their sector – what is it about your products or services that they need? How do these things affect them in their everyday life?

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